photo looking down San Francisco's Market Street toward downtown

Reinventing Downtown

A new model to revitalize San Francisco’s urban center

photo of San Francisco with orange skies from wildfire smoke in September 2020

Shared Risk, Shared Resilience

New governance structures for community wildfire resilience

Transit funding rally at San Francisco City Hall

The SPUR Impact Report

What we got done in 2025

Building storefronts in downtown San Jose

Getting In on the Ground Floor

Activation strategies for downtown San José

photo of San Francisco City Hall with a construction crane in the foreground

Charter for Change

Empowering San Francisco’s government through charter reform

Illustration of a crane stacking cargo containers that say "sound fiscal policy," "structural change" and "economic growth"

Balancing Oakland's Budget

Closing the city’s structural deficit to move toward fiscal solvency and economic growth

Support Affordable Housing in Santa Clara County: Vote Yes on Measure A

News /
Santa Clara County is now one of the most expensive places to live in the country. The median home price is approaching $1 million, and ever-increasing rents have resulted in displacement pressures and a growing homeless population. In November, voters in Santa Clara County have an opportunity to help those who are most in need of housing and improve quality of life for all.

Mission Creek Sea Level Rise Adaptation Study

Research /
Located on San Francisco’s eastern waterfront, Mission Creek is one of the city’s lowest lying areas. That means it's potentially vulnerable to storm surges, flooding and future sea level rise. This study considers different design concepts for how to “hold the line” on sea level rise at Mission Creek and weighs the pros and cons of each.

Lessons for Diridon: Rebuilding Rotterdam Centraal Station

News /
Over the next decade, San Jose’s Diridon Station will be remade into the first high-speed rail station in the country and the busiest transportation hub west of the Mississippi. What models can guide the planning for this major opportunity? Rotterdam Centraal, in the Netherlands, has a number of parallels to Diridon and offers an excellent model of what a modern transportation hub can be.

Fossil-Free Bay Area

SPUR Report /
Fossil fuel use is causing runaway global climate change, but we still have time to reverse course if the world can transition to renewable sources for almost all energy uses. The Bay Area is uniquely positioned to prototype ways to become fossil-free and model them for urban areas around the world. We propose three big ideas for how to end our dependence on fossil fuels.

The Corporate Campus: A Local History

Urbanist Article /
The Bay Area’s economic engine has evolved into a spatial pattern that comes with high environmental and social costs. Can we change course?